Can I Buy My Health? A Genetically Informed Study of Socioeconomic Status and Health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer W Robinette ◽  
Christopher R Beam ◽  
Tara L Gruenewald
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Physiological Dysregulation ◽  
Familial Influences ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Role Demands

Abstract Background A large literature demonstrates associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, including physiological health and well-being. Moreover, gender differences are often observed among measures of both SES and health. However, relationships between SES and health are sometimes questioned given the lack of true experiments, and the potential biological and SES mechanisms explaining gender differences in health are rarely examined simultaneously. Purpose To use a national sample of twins to investigate lifetime socioeconomic adversity and a measure of physiological dysregulation separately by sex. Methods Using the twin sample in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States survey (MIDUS II), biometric regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the established SES-physiological health association is observed among twins both before and after adjusting for potential familial-level confounds (additive genetic and shared environmental influences that may underly the SES-health link), and whether this association differs among men and women. Results Although individuals with less socioeconomic adversity over the lifespan exhibited less physiological dysregulation among this sample of twins, this association only persisted among male twins after adjusting for familial influences. Conclusions Findings from the present study suggest that, particularly for men, links between socioeconomic adversity and health are not spurious or better explained by additive genetic or early shared environmental influences. Furthermore, gender-specific role demands may create differential associations between SES and health.

scholarly journals Volunteers’ Felt Respect and Its Associations With Volunteering Retention, Daily Affect, Well-being, and Mortality

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1625-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight C K Tse
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Volunteer Work ◽  
Daily Affect

Abstract Objectives Volunteering is associated with improved physical and psychological well-being; volunteers feeling more respect for their work may have better well-being than their counterparts. Methods This study investigated the effects of felt respect for volunteer work on volunteering retention, daily affect, well-being (subjective, psychological, and social), and mortality. The study analyzed survey and mortality data from a national sample of 2,677 volunteers from the Midlife in the United States Study over a 20-year span. Daily affect data were obtained from a subsample of 1,032 volunteers. Results Compared to volunteers feeling less respect from others, those feeling more respect (a) were more likely to continue volunteering 10 and 20 years later, (b) had higher levels of daily positive affect and lower levels of daily negative affect, and (c) had higher levels of well-being over a 20-year period. The effect of felt respect on mortality was not statistically significant. Discussion Greater level of felt respect for volunteer work is positively related to volunteers’ retention rates, daily affective experience, and well-being.

scholarly journals Bioconstitutional Imaginaries and the Comparative Politics of Genetic Self-knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1087-1118
Author(s):  
J. Benjamin Hurlbut ◽  
Ingrid Metzler ◽  
Luca Marelli ◽  
Sheila Jasanoff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Self Knowledge

Genetic testing has become a vehicle through which basic constitutional relationships between citizens and the state are revisited, reaffirmed, or rearticulated. The interplay between the is of genetic knowledge and the ought of government unfolds in the context of diverse imaginaries of the forms of human well-being, freedom, and flourishing that states have a duty to support. This article examines how the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States governed testing for Alzheimer’s disease, and how they diverged in defining potential harms, benefits, and objects of regulation. Comparison before and after the arrival of direct-to-consumer genetic tests reveals differences in national understandings of what it means to protect life and citizenship: in the United Kingdom, ensuring physical wellness through clinical utility; in the United States, protecting both citizens’ physical well-being and freedom to choose through a framework of consumer protection; and in Germany, emphasizing individual flourishing and an unburdened sense of human development that is expressed in genetic testing law and policy as a commitment to the stewardship of personhood. Operating with their own visions of what it means to protect life and citizenship, these three states arrived at settlements that coproduced substantially different bioconstitutional regimes around Alzheimer’s testing.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Parental Strain

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
JACQUELINE SCOTT ◽  
DUANE F. ALWIN
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Parental Strain ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Parental Role ◽  
Role Salience ◽  
Emotional Involvement ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Mothers And Fathers ◽  
Blacks And Whites ◽  
Role Demands

This article examines gender differences in the strains associated with parenting. We hypothesize that due to the different role experiences of being a parent, mothers are more likely than fathers to experience greater role strain. Women who parent are more likely than their male counterparts to be exposed to strain-inducing experiences because they spend more time in child care and other household chores, because they are more likely to be doing so as a “single-parent,” because they are more likely to be juggling family responsibilities and work commitments, and because being a parent has greater role salience for women. We also hypothesize that by taking into account the different role experiences of mothers and fathers we can partially account for the expected gender differences in parental strain. These hypotheses are explored using survey data from a probability sample of Detroit parents obtained in 1982-83 (n = 1,040) which assessed their parental role experiences and psychological well-being. The results confirm the hypothesized difference between mothers and fathers in reported strain, among both blacks and whites, with mothers expressing significantly greater role demands and parental strain than fathers. We find, however, that little of this difference is attributable to the differential role experiences we analyzed. We conclude that gender differences in parental strain may be linked more strongly to “gender role” than “parental role,” in that women are socialized more than men into taking responsibilities for relationships and are therefore more likely to experience the greater stresses associated with intimacy and emotional involvement with others. The greater strains of parenting felt by mothers as opposed to fathers may, thus, be due as much to the differential orientations they bring to the parental role as it is due to the objectively-assessed differences in role experience.

scholarly journals Risk and protective factors of college students’ psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: emotional stability, mental health, and household resources

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Moeller ◽  
Luise von Keyserlingk ◽  
Marion Spengler ◽  
Hanna Gaspard ◽  
Hye Rin Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Subjective Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Household Resources ◽  
Before And After

Colleges and universities have increasingly worried in recent decades about college students’ wellbeing, with the COVID-19 pandemic aggravating these concerns. Our study provides empirical evidence of changes to undergraduate emotional sentiments and psychological wellbeing from before to after the onset of the pandemic. In addition, we explore whether certain risk factors (i.e., prior mental health impairments, trait emotional stability) and protective factors (i.e., subjective socioeconomic status, parental education, household resources) predicted students’ emotions and their intra-individual changes due to the pandemic onset. We compared experience sampling method data from 120 students from before and after the pandemic onset, examining intra-individual trajectories.There was only little change in students’ emotions. Prior mental health impairment and trait emotional stability predicted students’ emotions, averaged across time points, but not emotion changes. Few associations with emotions were found for subjective socioeconomic status and parental education, but study-related household-resources predicted levels and changes in emotions.

scholarly journals Give Thanks in All Circumstances? Gratitude Toward God and Health in Later Life After Major Life Stressors

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 465-465
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks ◽  
Joanne Ford-Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Life Stressors ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Development Framework

Abstract Gratitude is foundational to well-being throughout the life course, and an emerging body of work suggests that older adults may be more inclined to attribute gratitude to a non-human target (God). Drawing on life course theory and Erikson’s lifespan development framework, we use data from a national sample of Christian older adults from the United States (N = 1,005) to examine whether gratitude towards God buffers the noxious health effects of the death of a loved one or personal illness. Results suggest that gratitude towards God tends to predict better age-comparative and global self-rated physical health in the aftermath of stress, a moderation effect which is partially mediated by stronger beliefs in God-mediated control (that God is a collaborative partner in dealing with problems). We conclude by proposing some interventions for clinicians and counselors centered around gratitude and religiosity that may assist older adults in coping with major life stressors.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of the Spiritual Impact Rating Scale for Women (SIRSW): A Tool for Assessing College Women's Spirituality

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Angela U. Ekwonye ◽  
Verna DeLauer ◽  
Terrence F. Cahill
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
College Women ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Internal Consistency Reliability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Demographic Differences ◽  
Minimum Criteria

Spirituality impacts college student outcomes in the United States such as mental health, physical health, academic success, and healthy behaviors. Numerous studies consistently show gender differences on spirituality measures. The wealth of empirical evidence demonstrating gender differences in spirituality warranted the development of a tool for measuring college women's spirituality. The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the SIRSW, including its content validity, factorial structure, and internal consistency using a college women sample. A sample of 667 undergraduates (ages 18-26) at an all-women’s Catholic University in the upper Midwest completed the spirituality survey in Spring 2018. Demographic characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Demographic differences in spirituality score were assessed using t-test and one-way ANOVA. Psychometric characteristics of the SIRSW were assessed by evaluating variability, internal consistency reliability, and overall scale structure. There were no significant demographic differences in total spirituality score. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach alpha = 0.97). Item-scale coefficients were above the minimum criteria. Factor analysis revealed that the 16-items measuring spirituality fell under the one-factor component and accounted for 82% of the variance. The SIRSW was found to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing the spiritual well-being of college women. Understanding college women’s spirituality can inform the development of a spiritually oriented intervention that is consistent with their values enhancing their psychological, mental, and physical well-being.

Psychosocial Resources and Physiological Dysregulation

2018 ◽  
pp. 202-220
Author(s):  
Joshua F. Wiley ◽  
Tara L. Gruenewald ◽  
Teresa E. Seeman
Keyword(s):  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychosocial Resources ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Physiological Dysregulation ◽  
Relationship Factors

Psychosocial resources refer to individual personality and social relationship factors that tend to cluster together and contribute to psychological and physical health and well-being. Growing evidence demonstrates robust relations between psychosocial resources and health. Physiological dysregulation represents one key mechanism that may help to explain the link between psychosocial resources and health. The current chapter focuses on the relations of psychosocial resources with physiology, drawing on findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and other large, epidemiological studies. The focus is on the relations of psychosocial resources with allostatic load, a composite index of multisystem physiological dysregulation, while also highlighting select findings for individual biomarkers. The summary of evidence examines psychosocial resources as both a direct and a moderating factor on biological outcomes. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research.

Sexual Assault: Exploring Real-Time Consequences the Next Day and in Subsequent Days

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Barrett Kashdan ◽  
David Disabato ◽  
Patrick McKnight ◽  
Kerry Kelso ◽  
Marla Lauber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Adult Women ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Sexual Assault Survivors ◽  
Sexually Assaulted ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Assault Survivors

Approximately 15-20% of adult women in the United States have been sexually assaulted. To our knowledge, there are no studies capturing prior functioning and near immediate psychological reactions of sexual assault survivors. In the present study, each night over the course of three weeks, we asked college students to report on their sexual activity and well-being. Six women reported being sexually assaulted at least once. We examined psychological experiences on the days before and after sexual assaults (including negative and positive affect, social anxiety, self-esteem, emotion expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal). To examine sexual assault reactions, we used various modeling techniques. Our results suggest that before and after being assaulted, survivors showed no consistent response in subjective well-being. We failed to find a prototypical psychological profile. Despite the small sample, our results dispel the myth that sexual assault survivors are homogeneous in generating and regulating emotions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document